Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII belongs to Squaresoft. But I assure you, when I rule the world, IT WILL BE MINE!!!!
^_^ Sorry readers for taking so long to post this chapter. I knew exactly what I wanted to happen and I knew how to end it....but none of that matters if you can't start it. I've also been busy studying Japanese. Well, that's my problem, not yours. I hope you enjoy this chapter! ^_^
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Chapter 6: Flight One and Counting
The color was indistinguishable, so grotesque it was. Just the brilliance alone was so great it was expressed as dull. And the smell. All descriptions of the smell could never be called upon. It was wonderfully natural, yet artificial, it was clean, yet unsanitary, it was addictive, yet repulsive. It was freezing to touch, yet you shied away from the searing heat. The texture was smooth and soft, but you would retrieve you're hand bleeding. And with this, you would cover you're ears from the piercing screams, yet be drawn to the symphony it constructed.
Contaminated. That's all that could be defined of it. Sickly, fatal, unheard-of contamination. And it strived in her mind - bubbling and boiling. Escape only meant capture and yielding only meant torment. The consumption it performed on her drove away sanity and brought forth the terror of bewilderment. Nothing at all seemed to make sense, yet order was its demeanor. It found its way along her soul, wrapping her in its venom and poisoning her with its web. And just as the beach is swallowed up by the oncoming tidal wave, Rinoa was absorbed into the chaos.
Then, just as control was slowly ebbed away, a presence came. It was difficult to describe who or what seemed to be approaching, but the confusion parted, leaving a clear path of placidness in its wake. The coils around Rinoa loosened and became weak the closer it came, leaving her limp in its grasp. Slowly, she raised her eyes, transfixed by the image before her. A figure stood a little ways from her, seemingly studying this predicament. Nothing could be made of it, for a light brighter than the purest white enclosed the figure. The silhouette looked male: broad shoulders, large hands, thin waist....but all fine details were impossible.
An aura was about him, drifting slowly off into the still-present tumult. Nearby creatures cried in protest, but backed off as the drifting clouds of pearl neared. Rinoa could feel the aura herself, even at the distance at which she lie. Wisps of it passed by her face, caressing her flesh softly. It had an eerie warmth about it and she shuddered involuntarily.
Again, the figure began to approach. With each step it took, the aura became thicker and more distinct. The warmth of it became more intense at the closer range, too. The man stopped before her and Rinoa sat at his feet with her head bowed, too weak block the heat radiating from him. He knelt in front of her and carefully touched her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his own. Rinoa saw, through half lidded eyes, only the whiteness. His fingers burned into her flesh and caused her to choke out in pain. Still, he kept his grip on her and leaned in closer to her fatigued face. Now only a hair's breadth away, he whispered with a fiery breath to her:
"Do not be scared. As long as I am here with you, your own mind cannot harm you." The man gestured to the turmoil bubbling at the bay of his light.
Rinoa seemed not to hear the man, or sense much else besides the pain of his closeness. Then, going beyond all of her limits to resist, the figure embraced her tightly, rendering her unconscious.
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Rinoa awoke as hot as she had been in her dream. Raven hair was plastered to her face and she had to pull it out of her eyes to see where she was. Her fear and confusion slowly flushed out of her head, just as the calming of a storm and the receding currents of thrashing waves. Her mind was full of so many thoughts, yet she dimly remembered what she had experienced not five minutes before. Rinoa sighed in relief when she familiarized herself with the hotel room.
She spent most of that morning basking in the luxury of a refreshing shower and sorting out things to wear. Fifteen short of the hour at noon, she hurried down to the lobby in denim shorts and a blue t-shirt.
Upon reaching the last step, she stopped and frowned. Not a soul was in sight. Everything seemed to be deserted, from the small cafeteria to the check-in desk. Rinoa had been in Fisherman's Horizon for a week at least and had yet to see this five star hotel empty like this.
That's creepy. Maybe something's going on outside...' she hurried out the door.
Outside the sun was bright and hot, shining down upon the famous city and Rinoa. The streets were deprived of life and the silence was frightening. The air was heavy and weighted down upon the ground, leaving a strange scent wafting through the air. Rinoa was suddenly reminded of her dream and cringed. To go back indoors was suddenly tempting, but being alone sounded worse. So Rinoa reluctantly began searching the streets.
The sun was becoming hotter and sweat trickled down the girl's nose. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and took a seat at a nearby bench. Rinoa, looking back at how much she had traversed and how much was left, suddenly regretted the city being so large.
Damn its hot! Alright, girl, the train station is up ahead only a half a block...you can do this. There's bound to be someone up there!' Rinoa again looked up the street and noted the heat waves rising from the cement. Maybe there'll be something to drink there too.' With a new found objective, she hoisted herself off the torrid bench and began making her way toward the station.
The distant sounds of shouting caused Rinoa to refrain from continuing. Stealthily, she crept being a couple of trash cans and watched the struggle up ahead. She could dimly see, through the haze that had gathered, a group of people thrashing about near the tracks. Taking advantage of the distraction, she moved closer to get a better understanding of the situation.
It was a lady who looked about the same age as Rinoa. There were other people, too....though all of them were in bright suits and had some sort of mask on. One of them was attempting to wrestle down the girl and take her captive. The others seemed uninterested, but instead were going into nearby houses and dragging out.......bodies!
Rinoa gave a short cry and stubbled back. Not believing herself or her eyes, Rinoa looked once more from her hiding place. Again, she saw the same: dead bodies being dragged out of houses and piled in the middle of the street. Rinoa suddenly felt sick as she noted the discolored skin of the bloated corpses. They had turned an ugly yellowish green.
Gladly turning her attention back to the restraining girl, Rinoa watched as the masked man threw his arm around her face. Rinoa was almost compelled to help, but restrained herself from being noticed. Meanwhile, the girl had bitten the arm, which released, giving her enough room to throw her elbow forcefully into the guy's helmet. He was knocked senseless for a moment, but the moment was all the girl needed. She made a mad dash in Rinoa's direction and passed by without notice.
Rinoa, in a state of confusion, watched as the dizzy man shrugged and turned back to more serious matters.
Making sure the coast was clear, she then darted after the escaped girl, taking enough effort not to look back at the bodies.
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Not fifteen minutes later, Rinoa came across the girl in a shaded doorway. Her face was swollen and red and her chest heaving for breath. At the sight of another person approaching, she was on her feet with clenched fists.
"Hey, wow!" Rinoa stumbled back a step. "I'm not with them. I just wanna know what's going on. You seem to be the only one within miles who isn't wearing a mask or....dead."
The girl closed her eyes and sank back to the ground. She wiped away sweat and smoothed down her ruffled brown hair. Then, looking up at Rinoa with appeasement, she motioned for her to take a seat. Reluctantly, Rinoa obeyed, kneeling in the shade by the prostrate one.
"I don't know who they are," explained the brunette. " Just as you, I was confused. I saw them earlier this morning and went to one to ask the situation here. But, damn, you should have seen that man's face when he saw me! It was kinda like," she paused for breath. "You know, like when you see the walking dead. I understood why when I looked over his shoulder. There were other uniformed people dragging--"
"Yes, I know, I saw it," interrupted Rinoa. "Please, everything besides that."
"Sorry. Well anyway, the guy told me to follow him over to their vans, and I was like No way!' after seeing... you know. I told him to explain first, but he insisted that I follow him. So I freaked....and I suppose he did, too..."
"Yeah, I was watching and I saw you fighting that guy. Why did he want you so much?"
The brunette shrugged helplessly. "Hell if I know. But as soon as he jumped at me like that.....all I wanted to do was escape. He didn't want me to, I suppose, but...." she looked down the street. "Looks like he doesn't care anymore."
"Well at least I'm not alone in this. I'm Rinoa Heartilly," Rinoa offered her hand.
The other girl blinked. "The daughter of Deling's president?" She read the sudden regret in Rinoa's expression. "Oh! Don't worry, you're secret's safe with me." Then, taking Rinoa's outstretched hand, she gaily stated, "I'm Ellone Leonhart. Nice to meet you!"
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The two girls spent nearly an hour discussing matters beneath the doorway. The conversation was pleasant, until it occurred to them the sun was not beating down so hard. Both gasped as they looked up, noticing the smoke that blocked out most of the light.
"What the--"
"The bodies," whispered Ellone, almost to herself.
"What about them?"
"Well this smoke seems to be caused by some sort of inferno, so my guess is..."
"They're burning the bodies?!"
"Isn't it obvious yet? Didn't you see those people? All discolored and stuff?"
Rinoa stared off into the distance, pondering. Then, "Yeah, but what do mean?"
"Disease. A plague must of hit here a few days ago. It..." Ellone paused, her face deathly pale. "It must have killed the whole city last night. Those people with the masks.....They're going to burn the whole city!!"
"Plagues can do that?!?"
"Didn't you pay attention in science class?"
"Yeah, but...." Rinoa suddenly turned thoughtful. "Wait...I was here for over a week! Surely I must've--"
"Come on!" Ellone pulled herself and Rinoa off the ground. "I know how to get out of here!"
Rinoa eagerly followed Ellone down the streets, through the alleys, over the docks, and through parts Rinoa had not been to yet. Finally, exhausted and tripping, Ellone hesitated at a corner.
"How...much...farther?" Inquired the haggard Rinoa.
"Not much. Just over there and down a flight of stairs. My ride's waiting there."
"Your ride? You've been chauffeured? There are more people?"
"Uhh...not quite. But its a quick way out."
Ellone led Rinoa the rest of the way to the stairs. Rinoa was shocked when she was brought to the colossal auditorium she had dreamed about entering before. Now she hesitated, looking up close at this glorious structure for the first and last time. A tugging on her arm brought her back to her senses.
Once down the stairs and into the heart of the auditorium, they weren't far from the mayor's house. When passing the small house, Rinoa's breath caught in her throat at the thought of these people going to bed expecting to see a new morning. Now, lifeless corpses have taken their place.
Directing her thoughts elsewhere, Rinoa was in awe when they turned the bend. A massive ship in scarlet hue was settled peacefully behind the mayor's house. The young woman's imagination had never reached such wondrous thoughts before. The metallic ship was shaped somewhat like a dragon and reflected against the blazing sun, which was now not covered by so much smoke and ash. Artillery of every kind lined the outside of the ship, also disguised as the flame-breathing creature. Rinoa wondered vaguely if it really did breath fire.
Coming closer, Rinoa was brought to the reality of its size. From a distance it was large. Up close it was monstrous. Fine details were molded into every layer and famous dates were printed onto the sides. In large letters, upon one of the engine shell, read Ragnarok'.
"This is my first car, how about you?" Ellone was amused by the emotion Rinoa was displaying.
"Its...ah....wow. And I thought a my Jag was an expensive ride!"
"Come on, you haven't been inside yet."
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"So how did you end up with this thing anyway?"
Rinoa seated herself in a heavily cushioned chair. She watched as Ellone pushed buttons here and there, meddled with the controls in the cockpit.
"Actually, its quite a complicated story." She replied through button pushing and typing.
The ship gave a sharp and sudden lurch, forcing Rinoa to grab the armrest for support. Ellone came to sit next to her.
"Now just sit back and enjoy the ride!" Ellone winked and put her feet up across from her as the ship began rising into the air. "Now this is a little secret between you and me."
Rinoa nodded earnestly.
"Well, when I was little, my mother died and my father moved away to Esthar. I lived with my little brother for sometime, but when I was about thirteen, Esthar soldiers captured me and took me away to their continent. Now get this: my father was made president of Esthar three years before my arrival. For eight years, I was tested on and studied....and my father was oblivious to it all!!"
"Wait, you were tested and studied? What for?"
Ellone shrugged. "I dunno. The head guy of the lab, Dr. Odine, never wanted me to ever know. Besides," she added with a chuckle, "if he ever did tell me, I don't think I would be able to understand him. Anyway, I went to a private school and met a few other kids, but each night I went through painful examinations and slept in a cell-type room.
"Well, like I said, I was there for eight years. Like you could imagine, I was getting tired of it. So here's the catch: Esthar is the city of the future' and all, so they store these puppies there for trips out of orbit and stuff. Now me being the eavesdropper that I am, I eventually learned where they kept these and how to work them. Alone with that, of course, my cell wasn't hard to ditch.
"So one night, not long ago, I escaped and took one of their Ragnarok!" She spread her arms wide, demonstrating the events.
"You know," Rinoa said, "your life and mine don't sound too far different. Even considering we're both the presidents' daughters!"
"Yeah, that's true."
"So how did you end up in FH anyway?"
"On leaving, my first objective was to find my brother. He's a SeeD of Balamb I was told, so I was going to go visit him. Well, first considering I'd be caught if I went to Balamb, I decided differently. Probably for the same reasons as yourself, I went to FH. Besides, SeeDs are sent all over the world. Who knows, he could've been at FH...." Ellone's voice suddenly dropped and a tear ran silently down her cheek.
It was silent for a long time before Rinoa said, "I wish I could have been a SeeD. All I want is to see the whole world! There's so much to discover in Gia; so many places. I'm sure your brother wasn't there, considering the chances of him being anywhere else. Plus, there was nothing wrong with FH that would need a SeeD, well besides now."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I should just forget about that whole incident."
Changing the subject, Rinoa added, "Where are we headed?"
Ellone grinned."My hometown, Winhill."
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Sorry again for the wait. I'm really having fun writing this....even though I don't get many reviews. I hope all my readers out there have as much fun reading it! Please R+R !!!!!!!!!!!